Panggaw (Crab Trap)
Bohol has a wide variety of ways of catching crabs. Last time, we featured the Pasgong, a Traditional Fishing Implement. Another local crab trap from Agape, Loboc is the Panggal or Panggaw. This type of crab trap is made of bamboo strips formed into a basket with a single entrance at the top with a 10 cm x 3.5 cm elongated opening. Other fishing communities in Bohol use rattan or uway. The trap has a flat bottom with an opening for harvesting catch.
The panggaw is used mainly to catch mud crabs, wherein the trap is baited with chopped or pounded fish. With stones attached as sinkers, it is then tied to a nipa or a mangrove branch for easy retrieval. Traps are set at strategic locations and left overnight to be retrieved the following morning.
The caught mud crabs, tied with bamboo strips, are put on display along the roads. Other fisherfolks directly deliver their catch to their suki or clients. For these fishing communities, catching crabs has been a source of sustainable livelihood.
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